As Regimes Fall in Arab World, Al Qaeda Sees History Fly By

[iandhr]

Source: NY TIMES

For nearly two decades, the leaders of Al Qaeda have denounced the Arab world’s dictators as heretics and puppets of the West and called for their downfall. Now, people in country after country have risen to topple their leaders — and Al Qaeda has played absolutely no role.


In fact, the motley opposition movements that have appeared so suddenly and proved so powerful have shunned the two central tenets of the Qaeda credo: murderous violence and religious fanaticism. The demonstrators have used force defensively, treated Islam as an afterthought and embraced democracy, which is anathema to Osama bin Laden and his followers.

So for Al Qaeda — and perhaps no less for the American policies that have been built around the threat it poses — the democratic revolutions that have gripped the world’s attention present a crossroads. Will the terrorist network shrivel slowly to irrelevance? Or will it find a way to exploit the chaos produced by political upheaval and the disappointment that will inevitably follow hopes now raised so high?

For many specialists on terrorism and the Middle East, though not all, the past few weeks have the makings of an epochal disaster for Al Qaeda, making the jihadists look like ineffectual bystanders to history while offering young Muslims an appealing alternative to terrorism.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/world/middleeast/28qaeda.html?_r=1&hp

[rbixby]

1. I think that's the best way to defeat this kind of enemy

by making them irrelevant.

[Old and In the Way]

2. I always thought Al Qaeda was a product of social engineering.

Think of Saudi Arabia as the Koch brothers and the AQ "troops" as religious, militant fanatics not unlike the tea partiers that are manipulated to act against their own best interests. There was never a grassroots roots AQ movement...just a nebulous and nefarious collection of anti-socialists who were a convenient punching bag for our corporate sponsored 'Global War on Terror'.

[RedCloud]

3. "member when the Shah or Iran got kicked out? How has that turned out?

Just saying, let's wait and see. Also you could pick just about any facet you want, but because you picked Al Qaeda, seems more like a CIA cover story.

As Regimes Fall in Arab World, _________ Sees History Fly By

A) The Free Market System
B) Israel
C) Al Kaline
D) Imperialism
E) The former USSR

So I don't get this title at all. Did anybody say, "US elects Afro-American for President as Racists see history fly by"? No, too provocative.

[AllTooEasy]

5. Different circumstances

The Shah's overthrow was advertised as a religious revolution from the start. There was absolutely no hiding it.

Still, history is still being written on these countries.

[Turborama]

6. Indonesia has been going from strength to strength since Suharto got kicked out in 1998

If you want to start talking about Muslim majority countries that have had revolutions, how about looking at a more modern example?

Indonesia, the worlds largest Muslim majority country and a secular democracy.

The scary horror story has been tried for too long and it ain't worked.

Try and get past the title, this article makes lots of really good points.

[Crowman1979]

4. Islamic fanatic EPIC FAIL!

And that goes for religious nutjob of every god. Hopefully the fundie christians here will have an EPIC FAIL in this country as well.

[Bragi]

7. It's waaaay too early to make this claim

AQ has always been a few hundred psychos whose magestic global force was mostly a well-funded myth to support American fascism abroad and domestically.

I'd be very cautious about declaring radical Islam defeated at this point. As in Iran, it has a proven and ensuring ability to fill a political vacuum. The same can't really be said about democratic institutions in the Arab world, at least yet.

[roguevalley]

8. I hope its true and these freaks go fuck themselves.